


Birds of a Feather

by f2017k



Category: Love Island (Video Game)
Genre: Confessions, F/M, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Love Island: The Game Season 3, Mutual Pining, Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:08:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25768708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/f2017k/pseuds/f2017k
Summary: Florence has come to Love Island to catch a break from her relentless schedule and have the vacation of a lifetime, without great expectations of romance. So has Sebastian. Fortunately or unfortunately, for this pair, summer plans will be turned upside down as feelings get involved.
Relationships: Seb & Main Character (Love Island), Seb/MC, Seb/Main Character (Love Island), Seb/OC, Seb/Original Character
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! Since Fusebox so cruelly robbed us of a Seb romance this season, I've tentatively decided to write my own. This is my first fic in a long, long time, and as such, I may be a little rusty. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy.

The pace of the villa was relentless - the first day went by quickly, all of its events melting into a blur in her mind. Meeting the girls, meeting the boys, coupling with a complete stranger based on nothing but looks and an ‘alright?’. Then, in the afternoon, the challenge, the sixth girl.

Head abuzz with everything that had already happened, Florence hardly registered the news that the text had just bestowed upon them - the new girl had to to couple up. They all headed over to the fire pit and waited with baited breath.  
In one second, the blur of a day came to a screeching halt as she heard Genevieve’s verdict.

“The boy I’d like to couple up with is… Harry.”

The rest of the islanders chimed in with a chorus of ‘oh no’s and ‘that’s rough’s. Harry shot her a look that spelled out ‘I’m sorry’ before shuffling over to his new girl and giving her an awkward hug.

Flo stood staring blankly at the other couples. She blinked once, twice, then asked in a deadpan voice, “Does this mean that I’m getting dumped?”

“That wouldn’t happen already, would it?” exclaimed AJ, shocked.

“It wouldn’t be unheard of.” Seb retorted, glancing up at Flo apologetically.

She gave him a half smile. At least one of them was willing to be real with her, for better or for worse. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she slowly took it out, preparing for what she might read.

Inhale. One, two. Exhale. One, two. Inhale.

“Florence, Genevieve has taken your partner, leaving you single…”

One, two.

“...so get ready to mingle.”

Exhale.

Like Flo, the group of islanders let out a collective sigh of relief as the pressure of the situation drained away. She shook her head and relaxed the tension in her shoulders, smiling. She was fine, she was still here.

Dividing into groups and couples, people started drifting away from the fire pit, leaving her alone with a nervous Genevieve. After reassuring Viv that there were no hard feelings over her stealing a man she’d known for all of half a day, she set out to forget about the stress of the day. She needed to talk, to clear her head. But in a villa of strangers, who to choose?

Walking over to the bar, she poured herself a gin and tonic and cast her mind back to that morning. Seb, with his quiet demeanour and intelligent eyes, had caught her attention from the get-go. When he proclaimed that he’d rather take a nap than do the challenge, he immediately put himself at odds with quite a few of the others. But in that moment, Flo had thought him a kindred spirit. A small smile had formed on her face. That was that, she thought, as she made her way over to him. The decision was made.

Soon they were sitting side by side on the rooftop terrace, silently watching AJ cannonball into the pool again and again.

“I bet that girl’s never been tired in her life…” Seb mumbled, his words muffled by the way he leaned his chin against the railing.

She nodded. “I get tired just watching her.”

“I just don’t get how some people can be so active. I’m useless without two coffees in the morning. Could really go for one now, actually, but it’s a tad too late...”

Her eyes moved over to him, studying his face. Rougher than the other islanders, though not in any unpleasant way. She watched the way he brushed away stray strands of hair that lay against his forehead. There was a scar cutting through his left eyebrow, she noticed with a grimace. The realisation had brought with it a sting of pain from her past. She knew those scars, just as well as she knew her own. It was a bold assumption of her to make, she was well aware, but somehow, she didn’t think that she was wrong. He stared back, a blush creeping up his neck.

“What is it?” he asked, flustered.

“Let me guess your order.” She said, perhaps a bit too quickly. Changing her demeanour, she tapped her chin twice in thought. “Medium roast. Plain black, with an extra shot of espresso, and… two sugars.”

He blinked.

“Am I right?”

“Bravo.” he murmured, perplexed, “Now tell me, are you a psychic or a stalker?”

She smiled. How she loved playing this game. And if she guessed the orders wrong 50% of the time, she wouldn’t have told him. That would spoil the mystery.

“I’m afraid it’s neither of those. I used to be a barista for three years. After some time you just get used to reading people and guessing what they like.”

“I guess that makes sense." He hummed. "So, is that your trade? Coffee?”

She shook her head. “No, it was just one of the jobs I worked to get by. Along with bartending. And dishwashing. And tutoring.” She frowned. “Honestly, I’m a musician, but with all the other shit I have to do to keep myself afloat, most of the time I don’t even feel like one. Being a working creative sure doesn’t pay well. Not at first, at least.”

Seb nodded profusely in understanding. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, he found himself telling her everything about his life. He told her all about his work, and how hard it was to keep up with running a self-owned small business. In return she told him stories of her trying to break into the music industry. He excitedly told her that in addition to his cat, Doom, there would soon be a litter of kittens running around his store. To that, she smiled brightly and said she’d love to meet them all one day. He was brave, she told him, and selfless, to have risked his life for an animal. Not a lot of people would do that. She watched him try to fight down a smile as he readjusted his hair.

As the conversation flowed, the topic of family sprung up. While his parents weren’t really there, hers were all too present. Regardless of whether it was through abandonment or helicopter parenting, the effect on their lives was the same - both of them had gone off on their own at a young age, learned to be self sufficient, and hardly kept up contact nowadays.

“You don’t seem like the type to bring up this topic easily.” That piercing gaze again.

“I’m not.” He said quietly.

“Neither am I.” She hesitated. “I… I appreciate you telling me. For what it’s worth… and I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you this, but… your value as a person isn’t defined by your family.”

“I…” his voice faltered, and he closed his eyes for a second. “Thank you.” He whispered. He didn’t look at her, instead opting to watch the others in the villa below. She mirrored his actions, and they stayed like that. The silence was relaxed, as if it somehow already felt at home in their fledgling friendship.

After a few minutes he cleared his throat and said, “So, how are you doing? Tonight must have been tough…”

“I’m doing pretty well, all things considered. It’s the first day, anyway.”

“Exactly! You’re thinking smart there.”

He coughed and tucked his hair behind his ear. She’d seen the action just minutes before. He was nervous. “So, uh, I’d been thinking about your situation…” he hesitated.

“Go on.”

“The way I see it, you’re actually in one of the best positions in the villa. You get to graft on whoever you want, and no one can have a problem with you. You can get to know everyone before the next recoupling. And I’d say that’s better than pairing up with a stranger straight away.”

“You make a good point.”

“Of course I do,” he said with feigned pride, “It is actually illegal for me to be wrong.”

She scoffed, then smiled. "You’d better stop with that attitude, or you’ll start sounding like Bill.”

As if on cue, Bill’s voice drifted up from below, with a mention of cream crackers. Naturally, Camilo retorted that bourbons were so much better, and off they went again, arguing back and forth.

“How can a man even have this many opinions?” Seb mused with an exasperated kind of amusement.

“I swear to God that’s his only personality trait.” Her remark caused Seb to laugh for the first time that evening. It was a sharp, delightful sound. She could get used to hearing that.

He cleared his throat and, getting up, muttered “It’s getting late.”

“Yeah.” She stood up too, smoothing over the creases in her dress and going to leave.

“Hey, before we head back in…” she turned to face him as he lowered the volume of his voice, “I… I just wanted to say that I’m really glad we had this chat. If you ever need someone to talk to, uh, come see me, yeah?”

Gratitude painted her features as she smiled back at him. She gave a soft ‘thank you, Seb’ before they headed down the stairs together.

She’d count this day in as a success, she thought, because, if nothing else, she knew she’d made a friend.


	2. Chapter Two

Seb rubbed his face, attempting to ward off the second wave of sleepiness that hit him a few minutes after waking up. He felt the mattress shift under him and opened his eyes to find AJ bouncing up and down, grinning at him.

“Rise and shine Seb! It’s time to seize the day.” she declared cheerily.

Too much energy, he thought ruefully as he grabbed his pillow and smushed it against his face with a groan. It was too early for this. Much too early. All he could think about right now was a good cup of coffee to wake him up, and that acted as the motivating factor for getting him out of bed.

He pushed himself up into a sitting position and noticed that everyone else was already up and talking to each other. Well, everyone but Florence. He glanced over at her sleeping form, curled up in the sheets, looking entirely minuscule on such a big bed. The hint of a smile played at the corner of his lips as memories of their late night chat up on the roof terrace slowly came back to him. He didn’t want her to wake up in an empty room, he realised.

“We should wake her up before we go,” he announced gruffly, “we can’t just leave her here alone.”

A murmur of approval spread across the room.

“What if we all got in her bed and spooned her?” AJ chimed in.

A few people snickered, as did Seb. He didn’t think it was the worst idea, per se. However, he opted for what he thought was the friendliest option - that is, to pick up his pillow and take deadly aim.

It went soaring across the room and landed against her head with a satisfying thud.

“What the…” she stirred, tiredly sitting up, “Who did that?”

He tried his best to look innocent, but every other islander was quick to point him out. He grinned, then saw her narrow her eyes in concentration seconds before being hit in the face by that same pillow.

“Take that!”

“Ha! Good aim. At least you’re awake now.”

“Finally!” exclaimed Elladine, getting up off her bed.

“Yeah, I’m starving!” he grumbled, doing the same.

“Were you all waiting for me? Or were you watching me sleep?” she asked, suspicious.

“A little bit of both..” said Harry guiltily.

The islanders took their turns explaining their intentions. Seb watched as Flo tilted her head to the side and smiled at their words.

“Thank you guys, that’s so sweet!” she finally said when they were done. “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s get up!” she jumped off her bed and followed Elladine to the changing room.

After Seb was done with getting ready, he made his way down to the kitchen, where he found Florence already brewing coffee. She smiled at him as he settled himself on a high stool in front of the bar.

“How’d you get down here so fast?”

“A musician never reveals her secrets.”

“I’m not sure that’s how the saying goes.”

She shrugged and reached across the bar, handing him a cup of coffee. “Black, extra espresso, two sugars.”

“You remembered.” he said with the hint of a smile.

He brought it up to his face and breathed in the scent, closing his eyes and letting a feeling of serenity wash over him. Ah, just what he needed. He took a sip as she watched him expectantly.

“Damn…. you got it just right. That’s perfect.”

She beamed with pride.

“Almost feels like I’m back at home.” he sighed wistfully.  
“I wonder how Doom is doing.” He said with a touch of anxiety in his voice.

Florence came over with her own cup in hand, taking her place on the stool next to him.

“I’m sure she’s great. Maybe she’s watching reruns of last nights Love Island on the telly going ‘hey, I know that guy’.”

He smiled fondly at the thought. “Maybe.”

They sipped the rest of their drinks in silence and Seb’s mind wandered to of all the songs that sounded like Florence to him. He’d have to compile an official playlist when he got out of here. Then Bill came around and tarnished their blissful peace with a flirty comment about Flo’s dress. Seb rolled his eyes, but decided against saying anything. Instead, he helped himself to another cup of expertly brewed coffee and watched as Nicky set to work making the fry-ups.

\--

That evening, Seb stood over a bag of onions as he reflected on the events of the day.

His first date with AJ had been a disaster. When they had gotten the text, he decided that he should get to know the girl who he was coupled up with better. However, to say that their energies didn’t match was an understatement. While he thought her constant enthusiasm was annoying, she found him to be an unbearable grouch.  
Not that she was wrong, he thought with a frown. That’s what had gotten him onto the show in the first place. The producers thought he’d make a good contrast to the happy, wide-eyed, well-adjusted people around him.  
He’d chocked up when AJ had asked him who he fancied, changing the topic to that one brawl he’d witnessed at the Wanton Bishops concert. That was seriously the most romantic topic that he could think of. He kicked himself thinking back on it, but what was he supposed to have said? ‘I don’t know, AJ, but it sure as hell isn’t you’?

He huffed in annoyance as he put the knife down on the cutting board. Maybe he should have just chosen Florence to take on the date, like seemingly everyone else had opted to. At the very least he knew that would have yielded some solid chats about music.

To top things off, as if they had looked up a list of things that could make his day worse, the boys had agreed to make dinner. He stared at Camilo, who was putting a batch of perfect pastries into the oven. Then glanced down pitifully at his onions.  
God, he was so out of his element.

The girls came around to see how it was going and were quickly ushered out by Nicky, giggling and utterly bewildered.

When time came to eat what they had prepared, everyone peered down in silence at the “feast” laid out on the table. Each of the boys took turns to try and explain their respective dishes, and the girls tentatively reached out to try what each of them deemed to be safest. It was quickly determined that none of the options were edible. Luckily, Camilo swooped in and saved the night with his better-than-sex empanadas.

Harry started to carry off their unsuccessful cooking attempts back to the kitchen bins where they belonged. As he went by Florence, Seb watched in horror as a big chunk of spaghetti slid off the plate right onto her head with a squelch, sliding down her body as if in slow motion.

“What the?!”

Harry looked mortified.

Seb put a hand up to his mouth to stifle his laugh, but it was too late, she’d already heard him.

“Oh, I’ll show you who’s laughing- ” She took the brick of starchy spaghetti from her lap and chucked it at him.

It hit him square in the chest, blood red tomato sauce splattering everyone around him.

“The sauce surprise…” muttered Bill.

“Oh, mate. You’re on.” Said Seb with determination as he armed himself with more pasta.

One thing led to another and suddenly the scene divulged into pure chaos. Chunks of food flew in all directions, leaving no man un-splattered. Seb took the pot of herb sludge Nicky made and chased Florence down, splashing her as best as he could, leaving her gasping for breath as the wave cold liquid came crashing down on her.

“You son of a- ” She didn’t even bother finishing her insult as she ran after him, laughing. She tackled him to the ground and, pinning his hips down with her knees, grabbed any bits of food she could get her hands on. She proceeded to chuck them at him with mirth as he struggled uselessly, his sides hurting from laughter. In that moment of absurdity, Seb found her beautiful, wet hair flying around her, eyes gleaming and wild as she looked down at him. After rubbing a scoop of ice cream into his chest with a sense of finality, she rolled off him and went to lay on the ground by his side. They regained their breath as the food fight died down around them.

“Well that got intense.” said Camilo, breathless.

“I think I have cheese in my ear.” Bill complained.

“God, I’m covered in gunk.” said Flo, stating the obvious as she got up. "I don't think this'll ever come out" She groaned, brushing bits of food of the front of her dress. “Dibs on the shower!” she called as she ran off at top speed in the direction of the bathrooms.

As soon as Seb realised what she’d just said he jumped up, yelling “Oh hell no! I’m using it first!!” He took off after her.

He managed to catch up right as she was about to close the bathroom door and stuck his foot in the crack.

“Let me in.” he panted.

“And what am I gonna get from it?”

“I can help you clean up.”

“I have two hands of my own.”

“What you have is pasta in your hair. It’ll go faster if there’s two of us. Now let me in.”

She squinted at him, weighing her options.

“Fine.” she decided, opening the door to let him by, and closing it right after. “So, who goes first?”

Seb gestured for her to come over. Soup dripped from her dress onto the floor as she walked. She groaned and thew down a towel so they wouldn't slip, using another to mop some tomato off her leg. Seb got to work on her head and back, collecting noodles and dropping them into a pile on the floor, all the while trying not to think too much about how warm her skin felt against his fingertips. They worked efficiently in silence. When his turn came, she had to lead him to sit on the edge of the bathtub so she could reach his head. He scrunched up his face in disgust as Florence scooped an unidentifiable bit of food out from under his collar.

“So, I never really got to ask you…” he started, quietly, “how did your dates go? I mean, it was insane, Bill, Harry, and Camilo all chose you. The other girls must not have been thrilled.”

Flo grimaced. “No, they weren’t. I wish I could’ve avoided the situation altogether. Someone was bound get mad. No matter who picked me, I’d be going out with someone else’s partner…” She sighed and shook herself out of her mood. “That aside, the dates were nice enough, I guess. The chats were short but at least we were on a lovely beach.”

“Any of them caught your eye?” He’d meant to ask it nonchalantly, but the tone of his voice betrayed him.

She shook her head and he felt a flicker of relief, though he refused to acknowledge it.

“What about yours? No offence, but AJ didn’t seem too chuffed.”

“It was tragic. I fucked up bad.” Seb hung his head at the memory. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s a good mate, we’ve just got nothing in common. And I know it’s still early days and all that but… there’s no spark.”

“Don’t worry over it too much. Like you said, it’s just the beginning. You haven’t even gotten to know the others properly. Plus, there’ll be new girls coming in soon enough, I’m sure.”

He nodded. Silence. He studied her reflection in the mirror as she concentrated on removing something that was lodged in his bun. When it was free, she hummed and put it aside. Giving him a once over, she dropped her hands gently to his shoulders.

“All done.” She said quietly, meeting his eyes in the mirror.

That look again. The same one she’d given him on the rooftop the night before.

Her eyes were a faded green, like kelp speckled with driftwood. He barely knew her, really, but when she looked at him that way he felt his facade of apathy slip away, leaving him exposed. It drew him in and scared him just the same.

Florence broke the spell by clearing her throat and looking away. Seb quickly got up and turned on his heel, trying to conceal his flushed face.

“Right, then, I’ll leave you to shower.” He muttered, heading towards the exit.

“Yeah, um, thanks for the help.”

“Don’t take too long. You’ve got half a dozen people waiting on you.”

Seb all but ran out, shutting the door behind him. His heartbeat was fast. He closed his eyes and, with a deep breath and a shake of his head, decided to definitively not address how that encounter had made him feel.

He’d chalk it up to giddiness caused by the endorphin rush of the food fight and move on with his life. And that was that.


End file.
